Good Morning Beautiful! Hey guess what. My friend likes you!

Here's a silly little Natalie story for you. Sorry I've been absent lately. Things are nuts, but hopefully will slow down next week. I'm still working on about three requests at the moment, so if you've requested, never fear, they're on the way. In the meantime, I hope this will make you smile a little. Special thanks to Jenmm31, Best Beta Ever (and a damn good friend too. If you can, send her positive vibes today!)

Hey- you remember when I said my friend likes you? Spoiler alert- it's me. I'm the friend. (borrowed from Lin Manuel Miranda's amazing book GMorning Gnight :) )

A/N- in this story, Natalie is 3 years old. Please see profile page for disclaimer.

Dean Winchester had always been a light sleeper. And an angry one. Since the age of four, he seemed to have an around-the-clock alertness to danger. Not surprising, given all that his family had gone through. He was constantly aware of any one and any THING that could possibly harm his loved ones. So if he was sleeping, and something awoke him, he was always, always ready to fight whatever it was. The other two Winchesters had learned, real quickly, not to wake him up unless it was an emergency.

However, the three year old deemed this particular situation an emergency.

She stood on her very tiptoes, her little hands gripping the edge of the worn motel comforter, staring intensely at her father, willing him to wake up. After a couple seconds of this not working at all, she turned and worriedly looked at the electric clock on the table between his and Sam's beds. The big light-up numbers started with 6. She couldn't exactly tell time just yet, being only three, but she knew her numbers real good and she knew that something was wrong. It wasn't like this yesterday when the clock had the big 6 on it. She was scared, and she needed Dean to fix it.

She reached out a tiny hand towards her father and tugged on the sleeve of his dark grey tee-shirt. "Daddy," she whispered urgently. Dean's eyes instantly sprang open. His hand shot underneath his pillow to grip his favorite .45. A very, very tiny portion of his still sleepy brain made him stop from pulling the gun out, however. There was something…there was some reasonable explanation why he'd be woken out of a sound sleep before daylight…His wide, dilating eyes suddenly zeroed in on the tiny human gripping his sleeve. Oh. That's right. He had a three year old.

He relaxed his grip on his gun with a heavy sigh, and rubbed the heel of his hand into his left eye. "What's up, squirt. You okay?" he asked in a gravelly voice, trying to wake up and focus on what his daughter needed. She never woke him up unless it was an emergency (usually in her own mind). Most of the time, she just needed a little hug and a kiss, and she'd be right back to bed. He prayed this was one of those times.

Natalie vigorously shook her head no. "Daddy, there's something wrong," she said very seriously.

Dean's hand automatically gripped the gun again. "What is it? What's the matter?" he asked, blinking rapidly, trying to wake up in case this was an actual emergency.

"The sun is broken," she answered promptly.

There were several seconds of silence, then Dean pinched his eyes shut tightly once, before opening them back wide again. "What?" was all he managed to get out.

"The sun is broken," Natalie whispered again, this time more urgently.

Letting out a huge sigh, Dean flopped back onto his pillow, rubbing his fingers into his eyes. "Natalie, the sun is not broken. Go back to bed."

"Yes it is too!"

"No it's not."

"Yes-huh!"

With another sigh, Dean sat back up, shushing her. "Be quiet- you're gonna wake up Sam," he said gruffly, before extracting his feet from the warm covers and putting them on the cold floor next to the bed. He scooped his daughter up into his arms and carried her back towards the sofa where she was supposed to be sleeping. As they got nearer, he could feel her tensing up and starting to pull away from him. She hated sleeping and was clearly not happy that Daddy was about to put her back to bed.

Dean sat down heavily on the edge of the couch, moving her around so she was sitting on his lap, her right ear pressed into his chest. He cuddled her for a moment, before kissing the top of her head and leaning back to look at her. "Time to go back to bed, kiddo," he said, hoping that would be the end of it. But of course it wasn't, because this was Natalie.

Her green eyes got wide with panic and she gripped the front of his tee-shirt in terror. "Noooooo!" she said loudly, causing Sam to stir in his sleep. Dean pinched his lips together, and gently took her by the shoulders.

"Hey," he said sternly. "What did I say about being loud?" He looked into her face for a response, but she just fidgeted nervously and whimpered. Whatever it was that was in her head was clearly bothering her a great deal. Dean summoned every available scrap of patience he had. He was finding his supply of patience more and more in demand with a toddler in tow, but that tank was also filled up more frequently. He wasn't complaining.

"Okay, so…what is this now about the sun being broken?" he tried to ask without making it sound like this was stupid. He didn't want her feeling like she was dumb for her concerns- she was only three for crying out loud. "What's going on?"

Natalie fidgeted again, and pointed to the window. "See? The sun is not up," she said, as if that answered everything. She looked at Dean, waiting for his light bulb moment. It didn't come.

"So?"

"Yesterday when the big numbers said six, the sun was up," she explained carefully. Sometimes Daddy just didn't GET what she was saying so she had to make sure he understood. She pointed at the clock again. "See? It says the six on it. And the sun is not up."

Dean's mind tried to untangle itself, between the not-quite-awake factor and the three-year-old's explanation. It finally dawned on him what was going on- why she was confused. With a deep exhale, he spoke quietly, trying to alleviate her fears.

"Natalie, that's because today is Daylight Savings Time."

"What's that?"

"It means that time changes, so…" How was he going to explain this so she'd get it? "…so the sun comes up and goes away at different times. Time changes and makes the sun…do different things." Not entirely accurate, but for six o' clock in the morning, not bad.

Natalie looked at him, baffled. She stared, trying to figure out what he was saying. She pointed to the clock again. "But the sun is supposed to come up when the big numbers say five."

"Well, sometimes the time changes."

"I don't like that."

"Well, I'm sorry that no one consulted you."

"Change it back please."

That one threw Dean for a loop. What- did she think he had a magic wand and could just fix whatever she wanted? "Sorry, kiddo, no can do," he said, patting her leg in anticipation of putting her back into bed. But she wasn't having it. She wanted answers. Mostly she didn't want to go back to bed, but she didn't understand this Daylight Savings.

"But I don't LIKE it!" she said, making sure to make her displeasure known without getting too loud. Dean looked down into her face. Clearly, he was going to have to try a different tactic.

"Alright, kid. What's the rule about getting up in the morning?" he asked pointedly, making sure to look her right in the eye. She fidgeted again, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

"But that's not fair, cause-"

"Natalie. What's the rule?"

She bit her lip, looking contrite. "If the sun's not up, neither am I," she mumbled back at him. He nodded and shifted again, making to put her down. She pressed her tiny hands into his chest, trying to get him to stop. "But Daddy, that's what's wrong! The sun is BROKEN!"

"Nat, I already told you- it's not broken, it's how things are."

"But I don't want them to be like that."

"There's a lot in this life that you're not going to want to be 'like that'. Consider this a dress rehearsal for the big times," Dean said, standing up while laying her back down in one smooth move and reaching for her blanket.

"But-" she protested, her eyes wide as she saw Dean start to tuck her back in. "I'm done sleeping and the sun is supposed to be up so I can get OUT of bed!" she whimpered again, hating that Dean wasn't taking her side on this and fixing the sun.

He just leaned down and kissed her forehead. "No getting up until the sun does," he reminded her, before turning around and crashing back on his own bed. Within seconds, his snores filled the room.

Natalie huffed, crossing her arms tightly. Well, when the stupid sun finally DID come up, she was going to do something about this dumb old Daylight Savings.

*SPN SPN SPN *

Later on that morning, Sam and Dean were knee deep in research, trying to figure out what particular monster of the week they were facing this time. Natalie had quietly eaten her breakfast and was absentmindedly building a Lego fortress on the coffee table while still puzzling through this new development of Daylight Savings. Finally, when she could stand it no more, she pushed herself up from the coffee table and padded her way over towards her uncle. Maybe he would help if Dean wouldn't.

She walked right up to Sam and began patting his leg. He looked down, grinning. Her attention getting techniques were so damn cute.

"What's up, Bug?" he asked, using her newly acquired nickname. She giggled delightedly, still finding it funny when he called her 'Bug', but schooled her face instantly so he would take her seriously.

"Unca Sam? Does you know what Daylight Savings is?" she asked solemnly, tilting her head as she waited for the answer. Sam reached down, picked her up, and plopped her in his lap.

"DO I know," he said, correcting her. He was always on the lookout for these teachable moments. "And yes. Wait. How do YOU know what that is?" he asked suddenly, as it dawned on him that the three-year-old had knowledge of Daylight Savings Time.

"Because I said the sun was broken, and Daddy said it was Daylight Savings," she answered back promptly. Sam's eyes darted to his big brother, who was rolling his own eyes.

"The kid woke me up at six, thinking the sun was 'broken' because it wasn't up and she wasn't able to play yet," Dean said to Sam, with a sideways smirk. "I set her straight."

"Ah," Sam said, knowing that Natalie's problem with the situation completely stemmed from not being able to get up when she wanted to. She wriggled in his lap and patted his arm again to recapture his attention.

"Can you make the Daylight Savings go away?" she asked earnestly. Sam tried as hard as he could not to laugh in her little face. The snicker that insisted on making its way out, he tried to turn into a nonchalant cough. Dean just grinned.

"Sorry, Bug, can't make Daylight Savings Time go away."

"Why?"

"Because it's a law. And I can't change a law."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a senator or a government official or anyone that can change a law."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a hunter, silly," he said, poking her in the belly and tickling her. She giggled and pushed his hand away.

"Unca SAM! Stop!" she shrieked amidst her laughter. He grinned again, then set her back down on the floor, intent on getting back to his research. But she grabbed a hold of his thigh and with a grunt, heaved herself back up onto his lap. Upon realizing what she was trying to do, Sam reached down and assisted her, giving a light sigh. She was one determined little thing. When she was upright on his lap, she glared at him as only a three-year-old can do.

"I wasn't done yet," she said imperiously.

Sam barely managed to stifle his grin. "My apologies. What else do you need?"

"I want to fix the sun."

Both brothers heaved a sigh together. God this kid was stubborn. Dean looked around his laptop at his daughter.

"Kiddo, I told you this morning. The sun's not BROKEN. Time just changed- that's all," Dean said, looking her right in the eye.

Natalie pondered this for a moment while Sam and Dean held their breaths. They could almost see the wheels turning in her little mind. Finally she looked back up at Sam. "Can I borrow this book?" she asked, turning and pointing to a large tome underneath the piles of books on the table.

Surprised at her sudden change of pace, Sam looked up questioningly at Dean, who shrugged in response. Like he had a clue what was going on in the child's head. "Uh, sure Bug," he said, reaching over and carefully pulling the book out towards them. "I'm gonna need it back later, though, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed amiably, opening the book at random. She stared very intensely at the page, completely silent as she turned the pages, looking at the pictures. Sam and Dean once again exchanged incredulous looks over her head, and began one of their silent conversations.

Dude, what is she doing?

Beats me. She can't read.

I know that. So why is she staring at this book like she can?

No clue.

"Um, Natalie?" Sam asked gently, his focus going to "Whatcha doing?"

"Looking."

Pause.

"Okay. What are you looking at?"

"The book."

Pause.

"No, I got that. What are you looking for in the book?"

"A spell to fix the sun."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean suddenly said, fully alert to what she was saying. He stood bolt upright from his chair and walked around to the other end of the table. He reached down and plucked his daughter out of his brother's lap, pulling her in and catching her eye.

"Natalie, what do you mean you were looking for a spell?" he asked sternly. Not quite sure why she was in trouble, she leaned back a bit, but answered honestly.

"I want a spell to make time change back so the sun comes back when the big numbers say five," she said innocently. Dean's shocked gaze met Sam's for a moment, before swallowing down the bile that had risen in his throat.

"Listen up, Natalie Grace," Dean said gently. He didn't want her to think she was in trouble, so he modified his tone, but he knew he had to make her take him seriously. "We do NOT look for spells to fix our problems. Well- not in this case, anyway. Got it? This is one of those problems that ain't really a problem. So you don't mess around with that. You don't mess with witches and spells and crap like that. Do you understand me?"

Natalie's eyes had gotten very wide as Dean spoke, but she didn't understand. "But you and Unca Sam use the spells sometimes?" she asked tentatively, wondering why she was in the wrong here.

"Uncle Sam and I use them for work, and only if we absolutely HAVE to," he said, making sure to emphasize the 'have to' part. "Witches are bad. You don't mess around with them, and you especially don't mess around with witchcraft. Kapeesh?"

"But there are sometimes good witches, right? Like in the stories?"

Dean shook his head. "Those are just stories, kiddo. They ain't real life. Real life witches are nasty, and you don't screw around with them. Hear me?"

Natalie nodded, accepting Dean's words, before ducking her head into his chest. "I'm sorry that I didn't know that spells were bad," she whispered quietly. Dean's heart cracked a bit. How confusing it must be for a three year old who loved fairy tales to be saddled with two hunters whose lives were nightmares. He rubbed her back consolingly.

"I'm not mad. And you're not in trouble. You just didn't know, okay?" he said. "Just remember that you don't mess with witchcraft."

"Okay, Daddy. I won't," she said, popping back up and smiling at him after hearing that he wasn't mad at her. However, her face fell a bit. "I still don't like Daylight Savings, though."

"Well, I got good news for you."

"What's that?"

"Daylight Savings Time only lasts for a few months. Then the sun will go back to how you remember it."

"How long is a few months?"

"Uh…we'll have about six or seven cases in a few months. How's that?"

"That's FOREVER!"

"Well, you can't win 'em all, kid."